Carmine Sun
by Dusty Paws
Summary: After Bella's birthday Edward forces his family out of Forks. But once Alice sees Bella's agony she takes the first chance she can to return. With one more vampire in Forks than there should be how will things be different? Alice/Bella/Edward/Jacob
1. I: A Clean Break

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise I don't own unless I know you 'cause then I've probably told you all about anything of my own I've put in here.

Ok warnings...This is going to get rather confusing/fun later on I'm going to go ahead and predict that (hopefully) it'll end up Alice/Bella. There's Alice/Jasper, Bella/Edward and Bella/Jacob too just to make it a party.

Wish me vampires ;P

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_The forest was dim; the trees wouldn't let the pale sunlight through to the leaf-strewn floor. __A light breeze however rustled the trees and the occasional wilted leaf fell from the high branches. Edward Cullen and Bella Swan were stood in the forest and Bella had a green leaf twisted into her brown hair. "We're leaving…me and my family. We're leaving Forks." Edward's honey coloured eyes were darker than was usual but that could very well be a reaction to Bella's presence._

"_I'll come with you." Bella's soulful brown eyes held confusion and just a touch of hurt as she looked up at the vampire. He shook his head._

"_No. I don't…you should stay here." The human flinched slightly and the confusion was now written all over her face. She took a step closer to Edward and he took a larger step back. "I'm not good for you Bella." His now treacle coloured eyes dropped quickly to the off-white bandage that peeked out from under her coat sleeve before returning to her eyes. Eyes that now showed realisation._

"_This is about Jasper." It wasn't a question and Edward did not deign to answer her. "Edward it was a mistake he didn't-"_

"_-You're damn right it was a mistake!" His low voice took on a murderous tone but Bella didn't even flinch.  
"He didn't mean it. He's sorry and it won't happen-"_

"_-Oh don't be so naïve. It's not the first time he's slipped and it sure as Hell won't be the last." Edward's lips twisted into a scornful smirk. "You're not good for my family Bella." Her gasp cut the air like a knife as hurt sliced into her dark eyes. "We're leaving and you're staying."  
"I love you…" Bella's voice had lost the confidence and conviction it had held only minutes ago. Edward broke eye contact._

"_You're human. You're fickle. You'll move on in no time." Bella's face set into a scowl even as tears began to roll down her pale cheeks._

"_You said you loved me." The vampire closed his eyes and clenched his jaw._

"_I lied." A whimper escaped Bella's throat and Edward turned away. _

"_The others won't leave because of this. _Alice _won't just leave." Her voice shook betraying how little she actually believed her words. He didn't turn to face her again._

"_Alice and I have reached an…agreement and the rest of my family should already be on their way back to Alaska." Edward finally turned, his eyes so close to black that the pupil was barely visible. "We decided a clean break would be best." He flitted forwards and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. She pushed him back, brown eyes blazing with angry tears when he caught her hands in his._

"_We or you?" Bella hissed glaring up at him. "Someone would have told me if you'd all made a decision Edward. Alice would have warned me." He gave a bitter laugh, dropping her hands as if they'd burned him._

"_Of course she would." He sneered beginning to walk away. After a few steps he half turned to look at her with a sad gleam in his eyes. "Don't worry. It will be as if we never existed at all." His whisper brought a fresh wave of tears from the human girl before he sprinted away. He was quickly out of sight but Bella chased him anyway. Tears blurred her vision and she fell before she'd gotten too far._

_She didn't stand to continue following him. Instead she curled up in the dead leaves, hugging her knees to her chest and cried heavily. _

Alice Cullen's vision snapped back to normal at the sound of the front door slamming shut. There were raised voices downstairs and Alice didn't need to listen in to know why Edward was arguing with Carlisle. "We can't just leave, Edward."  
"We have to Carlisle. It's for her own good." Anger boiled in her dead blood and she fled her bedroom at speeds only her kind could manage. "One of us could kill her if we stay. You know that better than most." Alice found her brother and father in the living room and the rest of their family was already beginning to join them.

"We have lives here Edward. We cannot just leave." Edward's fists clenched at his sides but Carlisle didn't bat an eyelid at his son's anger, he merely laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Bella, I'm sure, would not want us to either."

"She's human. Human's often choose things that aren't good for them." Alice bristled and flitted forwards until she stood directly in front of her bronze headed brother.

"Like you, you mean?" Her golden eyes flashed and his look of surprise told her that he had read her mind. That she knew of his plans.

"Exactly like me Alice. Me, you, Jasper, _all of us_." Alice shook her head, unable to understand his train of thought. He baffled her sometimes. "Of course you wouldn't understand. You don't remember what it is to be fragile." She stopped trying to understand him in that moment but she heard Jasper growl softly and saw Emmett bristle.

"And you don't remember how much betrayal hurts." She muttered darkly, bringing the image of him turning his back on Bella to the forefront of her mind. This time it was Edward who tensed. "You've been idolized for so long you don't realise how much this is going to devastate her."

"Human's are-"

"Fickle, yeah I heard." All of the usual happiness was lost from her voice replace with a sold anger and at a signal from Esme everyone bar Alice, Carlisle and Edward left the room in silence. "Edward, she's not going to get over this. This will _destroy_ her." Edward shook his head.

"You can't know that Alice." She rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. For someone so short she suddenly seemed very dangerous.

"I see the future Edward. I can know that. I _do_ know that." Edward turned his back on her to look at their father. "I won't leave her alone. I won't do this to her."

"Carlisle." The doctor looked between his children, thought glazing his eyes over for a split second. Finally he fixed his gaze on his son. His favourite son.

"Ok. I'll start packing us up." A slow, victorious smile was already spreading across Edward's face when he turned back to Alice. Carlisle moved towards the stairs, no doubt to break the news.

"Go and pack Alice." He muttered smugly before walking out of the door. Alice sped past him, he found her sitting on the hood of his silver car.  
"I'm not going." She told him, arms folded but her vision refused to change with her decision. It should have been her first clue that something was wrong.

"Well you're not staying." There was now a distinctly treacherous glint in her brother's eyes. "Bella is better off without us. Especially your…enthusiasm. It's only a matter of time before you slip too."

"Don't you care what _Bella_ wants?" Edward's lips twisted into the sneer she had seen him wear in her vision. She hated the expression on his pale face; it was as if he'd changed into an entirely new person. A person she had no wish to know.

"I care about what she _needs_." His hand shot out to grasp her by the front of her shirt lifting her easily. "And she needs to have a normal life. Without us. One way or another." Alice's golden eyes shot wide as a vision filled with dark blood and hot venom flashed behind them. "Understand?" He put her down, almost gently onto the driveway of their home.  
"Sure." Her voice was hollow and defeated. Edward smiled, getting into his car as Alice turned her back on him, already in the throes of a vision of Bella's agony.

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Thank you for reading and please tell me if you think it's worth continuing or I managed to confuse you yet :)


	2. II: Fangs in the Sunshine

Finally a second chapter has made its way from my mind to my keyboard...I think it stopped for a break on my elbow though...

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Five months. The Cullens had been away from Forks for five whole months and to Alice it felt like an eternity. Edward had forbidden her return and outlawed her looking into Bella's future. But she couldn't help herself. The first few months had been hell for the human and Alice felt that she should suffer too. After all it was partially her fault: if she'd seen Edward's plans earlier or fought him harder, they probably wouldn't have left at all.

She felt sorry for Jasper who had to feel all of her pain and anger towards Edward, especially when they fought. Their fights were becoming more and more frequent and more and more heated as time passed. She knew that it was beginning to worry the rest of their family but she couldn't bring herself to stop. Each argument would follow the same pattern: she would mention Bella, he would order her silence, she would show him the human's latest suffering and Edward would storm off or scream in her face.  
But recently there had been a boy in Bella's life. Jacob Black was slowly but surely beginning to plug up the hole that she and her family had torn in Bella's chest and Alice was eternally grateful to him. She had seen Bella approaching men in Port Angeles and the motorcycles may have been a terrible idea but Jacob's presence was helping her heal so she could overlook those at least.

Edward walked around with a smug smile now, as if the boy's friendship proved him right. Every time he passed Alice though she would conjure up the image of Bella bleeding or Bella crying, his jaw would tighten and he would leave her. Alice wasn't sure which she hated most the smug grin or the ever present martyred glint in his deep treacle eyes.

It was dark outside; the sun had set long ago and Alice was curled up in the window seat of their house's living room. She couldn't quite bring herself to call the place home and highly doubted she ever would. "You should hunt." Jasper's voice was soft from the doorway and he flooded the room with false serenity.

"I'm fine Jazz." She kept staring out of the window at the moon until he sat beside her, taking one of her hands in his.

"Allie honey, you're not fine." She opened her mouth to disagree but her husband placed a calloused finger against her lips. "I can feel it Alice. You're hurting and you miss Bella. I'm sorry." Alice moved Jasper's finger from her lips, caressing his knuckles absently as she returned her gaze to the moon.

"Why are you sorry? It's not your fault." He reached out to take her chin, made her look back at him and she was ashamed to see the sadness in his honey-coloured eyes. She'd been all but ignoring her whole family in the past months, she hadn't meant to hurt them, least of all Jasper but…she couldn't think of an excuse. "_I'm _sorry. I've been selfish." Jasper smiled softly, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"You're allowed to be darling. The others were the same you know…except Rose of course." They shared a soft laugh that was broken by the roar of a car engine. Alice glanced outside and her dead heart leapt as she saw Edward's silver car speed away, kicking up waves of sodden dirt behind it.

A vision swam into her head in the same second as her brother disappearing over the horizon. Bella was alone again, tears were slipping down her cheeks and she was wandering through the forest with a map in her hands. Alice could only guess that Jacob had left her alone because he was nowhere to be seen and the pair had been inseparable for weeks.

Her vision faded and she could see Jasper watching her with concern in his golden eyes. He turned away before she could think of something to tell him and got to his feet. "Bella." It wasn't a question. Guilt blossomed in her chest but for the first time Edward wasn't there to stop her. She smiled sadly, hoping to a God she had long ago given up on that Jasper understood.

"I have to go to her. I'm sorry." He nodded and she flew forwards to place a chaste kiss on his lips but before her husband could react Alice was gone. He heard her drive away and wandered deeper into the house with a heavy sigh.

/

Bella wandered the forest outside Forks in the pale midday sun as she had for days before. Jacob had finally given up on her, as she feared he would, and joined Sam Uley's 'cult'. She was angry at the man and his friends but there was nothing she could do get her Jacob back, not when she was alone. And alone she was. Tears slipped down her face and she could taste them on her lips as she checked her map again.  
Lines drawn on in blue biro spider webbed across the page and most were scribbled out. They were routes. She was determined to find the clearing that Edward used to take her to. Finding the place wouldn't do anything to make her feel less alone but at least then she could convince herself that it had actually happened. That she hadn't imagined him and his whole family. She traced one blue line with her finger, still walking and found that she was just coming up on one of the clearings she had marked as a possibility.

Her heart leapt and then plummeted. It was their clearing but the previously emerald grass had turned golden-brown and the flowers were gone. She dropped to her knees, crunching the map into a ball and throwing it away. It made it to the centre of the clearing before floating lazily to the ground. Mocking her. "You really shouldn't litter Isabella." A dark voice murmured. Bella froze and forced herself to her feet, brown eyes scanning the clearing for the speaker. She swallowed heavily when she saw Laurent step out from the trees. "Are you alone my dear?" His voice was dark velvet and an involuntary shudder rolled down her spine.

"N-no." She cursed her stutter and the gleam in Laurent's hypnotically scarlet eyes told her he knew she was lying. "Edward just went…to fetch-"

"Bella, Bella, Bella." A smile pulled at his lips and his chocolate skin threw shards of light as he flitted closer to her. He placed a gloved finger against her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I think we both know that he left you." Bella's fluttered closed and she found she couldn't force a retort from her lips. "I can make the pain stop Isabella. I can make it all go away." Bella forced her eyes back open and tried to ignore the fact that her heartbeat had doubled in speed and that Laurent's eyes were rapidly darkening.

"And why would you do that?" Laurent gave a twisted smile.

"Victoria wishes to destroy for what your vampires did to James. I am merely offering you a more… peaceful death." Bella knew she couldn't run; there was no way she'd outrun Laurent and would death really be so bad? Her thoughts had just turned to Charlie when a spine-chilling snarl rattled through the clearing.

A blur of ivory shot from the trees and tackled Laurent away from Bella. Almost in slow motion bear like animals entered the clearing. One was black, one grey and the other russet brown. The beasts paced forwards but Bella's gaze was fixed on the girl that had been the white blur. Alice had easily pinned Laurent to the ground but he was fighting her and soon flipped her so it was he pinning her to the dying grass.

The animals that Bella now believed to be wolves had reached the brawling vampires in that moment and the blackfur's teeth closed around Laurent's shirt, throwing him away from Alice. The brownfur however leered down at the girl and slowly lowered its teeth to her throat.

Bella screamed.

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Why yes I do enjoy leaving small cliffhangers like this. How did you know? Thanks for reading guys and girls and thank you for your reviews too I'll get back to you with a new chapter as soon as I can :)


	3. III: A Vampire's Word

You guys know something? I think my muse has gone off on holiday or something. So I cobbled this chapter together while I go and wrangle the sneaky little leech...

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Upon reaching Forks Alice had left her car and headed immediately into the trees, racing through the forest until Bella's mouth-watering scent reached her nostrils. She had forgotten how attractive the smell of her human friend was and she could almost feel her already dark eyes dip into jet black. She briefly considered stopping as she passed a small herd of deer, that promptly scattered at the sight of her, but another scent snatched at her attention.

It was another vampire and the scent triggered a memory of the nomads. She sped up, her form blurring until she barrelled into a clearing where Laurent's pearl white teeth were making their way towards Bella's throat. A snarl tore itself from her chest and before she knew it she had Laurent pinned to the ground and was striving for his jugular. Alice quickly realised that he was stronger than she was as he flipped her over but mere seconds later he was torn away.

She knew that Bella couldn't have done it; the human wasn't strong enough and she could smell her clearly steps away. Another odour invaded her senses, choking her. She looked up to see an abnormally large wolf leering down at her with gleaming dark eyes. Alice felt shock and horror race down her spine: werewolf. Razor sharp teeth grazed her throat in a lethal caress. "NO!" Bella's voice cut through the growls and, amazingly, the brownfur raised its head, looking at the human with intelligent eyes.

Bella took a startled step away from the beast and Alice, now free from the threat it posed, flew to her feet. The blackfur and the greyfur had already, efficiently torn Laurent to pieces and Alice couldn't find any sympathy for the nomad in her cold heart. Instead she flitted around the three wolves to stand between them and Bella. The brownfur's hackles rose and it growled. Alice merely watched it, every muscle in her small body tensed and ready to intercept an attack from all three of the beasts if necessary. She wouldn't let them past her to Bella. The blackfur gave a sharp bark, glowering at her for a split second before turning away. The brownfur straightened and followed the wolf that Alice was now convinced was the alpha out of the clearing, with the greyfur on their heels.

Alice heaved a sigh of relief but quickly bit back her inward breath as the human pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace. "Alice…you came back." Bella was speaking into her shoulder but Alice didn't make any moves to return the hug. She didn't make any move at all for fear of losing control. Bitter venom was already flooding her mouth when Bella released her. "Oh…" Deep brown eyes locked onto Alice's own, surely to be pitch black ones but there wasn't even the tiniest hint of fear in their depths. At least not one that Alice could see. It was Alice herself that took the step back to distance Bella from her.

"I'd forgotten how…good you smelled." She whispered, looking anywhere but at the human so she wouldn't have to see the dark smudges under her eyes, her bone white skin or even the partially healed cut on her forehead. She hated the fact that she and her family had caused all the girl's pain. Bella didn't deserve that. She gave a sudden, half crazed giggle. "Only you could find vampires _and_ werewolves in Forks."

"Werewolves?" Bella cast a glance to what little remained of Laurent, a sick look on her pale face. "They were werewolves?"  
"Yeah. I was sure they'd all died out by now actually." Alice tilted her head to the side thoughtfully: there shouldn't have been any wolves left in town. The last time they'd been seen was over a hundred years ago. She made a mental note to call Carlisle and the winced when she realised that she was probably in trouble with her pseudo-father for returning to Forks anyway.

"Alice? You ok?" Bella looked, and sounded concerned as she drew Alice out of her thoughts. Immediately the vampire plastered a bright smile on her face.

"Of course." She marked a beat, playing with a matchbook in her pocket. "I am so sorry for leaving you here. I told Edward…" She trailed off, seeing the pained glint in Bella's eyes.

"Told him what?" Alice shook her head. "Alice. Told him what?"  
"That it would destroy you. That it would tear you apart. I should have stayed, I should've known he wouldn't go through with it and just stayed here." The pain was chased from the human's face by curiosity.

"Alice? What are you talking about? Ed-_he_ told me you'd reached an agreement." Alice chuckled hollowly drawing a worried glance from Bella.  
"Yes my brother can be very…persuasive when he wants his way." She hadn't missed the way Bella had baulked at saying his name and her anger towards Edward increased even though he was hundreds of miles away at least.

"What? Did he threaten you?" Brown eyes clouded in shocked disbelief and Alice finally turned her dark eyes onto the human with a soft smile.

"He'd never have gone through with it Bella." It was a stupid and exceedingly reckless move and all of her senses screamed at her to stop but Alice pulled Bella into a loose hug anyway. Bella held her tight and Alice fought not to breathe in the delicious scent of the human who was speaking into her shoulder.

"I missed you." There were warm tears seeping into Alice's jacket but she didn't care. It didn't matter now.

"Yeah." Alice swallowed a mouthful of venom. "Edward…he's not good with people. He thought he was doing what was best." Bella pulled away and the vampire was taken aback by the blazing look in her dark eyes.

"Well he wasn't!" The human eyes were wide and some life had re-entered her face. Alice smiled softly and took one of her warm hands into hers.

"Bella. I'm not saying what he did was right. Just that he thought it was." Bella sighed and a tiny fear that she had overstepped settled into Alice's heart.

"Maybe that's why he can read minds." Alice quirked an eyebrow. "He can't understand people so he understands their thoughts instead."  
"Maybe. Carlisle always thought they were carryovers from when we were human. Like Emmett's strength and Rose's excessive beauty." Bella snickered softly.

"I wouldn't say excessive." Alice smirked, nudging the human gently.

"Does Edward know about your crush on our sister?" Bella flushed crimson.

"What?" The vampire laughed and nudged her again.

"Kidding Bell. Relax." Behind them an elderly deer with a distinct limp entered the clearing. Alice's eyes immediately fixed on the animal and her mouth watered. "Would you mind if I hunted and met you at your house?" Bella shook her head, watching the vampire's glittering jet black eyes rove across the deer's body.  
"I could wait for you while you eat." Alice smiled softly.

"No sweetheart you couldn't." The endearment fell from her lips easily and she didn't try to take it back. "I'll meet you at your house."

"How do I know you won't go back?" The insecure tremor in Bella's voice made Alice's heart burn and she forced her eyes from the deer to the human.

"Because I said I'd meet you at yours besides I don't think I'll be well received if I did go back." Alice shrugged Bella's confused look off and pushed the other girl towards the forest. "Be careful and I'll see you soon. I promise."

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I thank you profusely for reading and if my computer screen allowed it I would probably hug you as well...or at least shake your hand. Until next time :)


	4. IV: Friendly Enemies

Thank you for all your kind reviews they make me smile :)

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Alice wandered into the Swan household, still wiping crimson blood from her lips and gold flooding into her eyes. She had barely managed to close the door behind her when she was pulled straight into a tight embrace that sent warmth seeping into her porcelain skin. This time she returned the embrace, feeling Bella smile into her place in the crook of Alice's neck and she realised that the human had honestly believed that she would leave her again. "You're here." Bella's voice was muffled by Alice's neck but the vampire had no trouble hearing her or the surprise in her tone.

"I'm not leaving you again Bella. Ever." She felt the sceptical eyebrow raise and giggled to herself. "Ok I'll consider letting you go to the bathroom alone." She winked as Bella pulled out of their embrace to give her a strange look.

"Are the others coming back?" Alice knew that Bella only wished to know if Edward would return and her smile wavered a little.

"No. Only me." Bella's eyes immediately fixed on the floor but not before Alice had seen the disappointment in them. Alice didn't think she'd ever hated her brother more in those seconds of silence with Bella looking at the floor, obviously fighting tears and she barely noticed that her tiny hands had formed fists at her sides. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You didn't want to leave." Alice allowed herself a rueful smile and brushed a rogue tear from Bella's still downcast face with her knuckle. The human looked up in surprise.

"I still left and I'm still sorry." Bella shook her head, blinking the rest of her tears from her dark eyes.

"_You_ came back." She said simply before turning on her feel and walking into the living room. She threw herself onto the sofa and before she could look around Alice was sat on the arm beside her. The vampire knew the conversation regarding her family was long over and cast around in her head for a new topic.  
"Werewolves in Forks. You really are a danger magnet aren't you?" Alice was rewarded with a soft chuckle from the human and some of the sadness in her eyes went away leaving the vampire feeling a little like a superhero for making it happen.

"Jake- my friend Jacob Black used to talk about them. Quileute legends about his tribe who could transform into wolves." A tiny smile pulled at Bella's lips as she spoke of the boy and Alice, while she had never actually met him, felt a small degree of kinship towards him. "He told me about the cold ones- vampires too. It's how I knew about your family." Alice nodded mind working quickly on the subject of Jacob Black's legends. She knew there was still a Quileute tribe on the reservation and as far as she was concerned they could very well be the wolves they had seen in the clearing. She also knew that if they were in the clearing and they were Quileute wolves they had breached a treaty that their alpha had once made with Carlisle a long long time ago.

"He's a good guy your Jacob." Bella frowned slightly and Alice could feel the deep brown eyes boring into her own in search of answers.

"You've never met him." She laughed. The vampire tapped her forefinger to her temple with a half smile.

"No. But I've seen him."

"You were watching me?" Alice nodded. "Why were you watching me?" There was a hint of a blush on her cheeks now and she felt the human's scent wash over her as her sweet blood washed to the surface.

"I'm attuned to you Bella." She murmured as if that explained it all. "I can't _not_ see you no matter how much Ed-_I_ want to." Alice cursed her slip with Edward's name, already knowing that the word was taboo in the Swan household now just by the sadness that flashed through deep brown eyes.

"Not interrupting anything am I?" Bella broke eye contact and flew to her feet to look at the tall, well-muscled boy in the living room doorway. His dark spiky hair and glimmering dark eyes were familiar to Alice although only from her visions. This was Jacob Black. She watched as Bella all but flew into his arms and he swung her around once, eliciting a happy laugh from her. Alice smiled softly until the too familiar scent hit her nostrils. Jacob Black was a werewolf. Her smile grew strained and she could see the same emotion echoed on his face.

"Jake this is Alice. Alice Cullen." The dark eyes hardened just a little as he stepped forwards to greet her. Jacob Black towered over Alice as he held out a large hand that she reluctantly shook, flinching as his strangely hot flesh seared against hers.

"Hey." She murmured softly, he nodded in reply. Alice could see Bella smiling softly at the pair of them from the corner of her eye. She knew that Jacob meant a lot to her friend and that knowledge was warring with her instinct to kill him. She could see the same war reflected back at her on Jacob's face too. She also knew that neither of them would attack the other simply because it would upset Bella, the one thing they had in common with each other.  
"Where's your brother? Did he come back too?" Jacob's tone was hostile, making a small smile pulling at Alice's lips: they did have something else in common after all.

"Nope." The shrill ringing of the house phone echoed in Alice's ears drawing a soft wince. She watched Bella slip from the room. "You're a werewolf?" She hissed as soon as the girl was out of earshot. Jacob's smile fell.

"You're a vampire." He hissed back, eyes darting occasionally to the door beyond which they could both hear Bella's muffled voice.

"Does she know?" A fire lit in his eyes and this time they stayed focused on her.

"Of course she knows you're a vampire, she dated your brother." His voice was low and urgent but there was still a hint of humour as he avoided the question. She punched him lightly on the arm.

"About you numbskull." He chuckled softly and she couldn't help but smile too.  
"No. Sam, my alpha's forbidden us to tell anyone. He doesn't even like to see her these days." Alice felt a pang of sympathy for the boy; it must be hard for him not being allowed to tell his best friend about a major part of his life. Harder still not to be allowed to see her. "He told me to apologise for crossing the boundary by the way and I wanted to thank you for saving Bells from that leech in the forest."

"Laurent." She muttered. "His name was Laurent but you're welcome. She's my friend too and I don't care about the stupid boundary line either. I never really have." There was a look of surprise on the werewolf's face at her words and she had a sudden thought that the pack had feared the treaty broken.

"You left her." There was a small note of bitterness in Jacob's voice. Bitterness coupled with a long cooled anger. She nodded. "It completely broke her you know?"

"I know. I tried to stop it. I tried to get back sooner but-"

"Edward wouldn't let you?" She shrugged silently, straining her ears to listen for Bella who had fallen silently in the kitchen. After a moment the human's voice sounded again and she sighed in relief.

"I could tell her." An idea smouldered in her brain as she watched Jacob's eyes soften.

"Tell her what?" She'd confused him and that made her chuckle. He looked down on her arms folded loosely with a mock glare and suddenly it was like playful arguing with Emmett.  
"What you are, seeing as you can't and all." A wide grin threatened to tear Jacob's face in two and he forced her into a hug, his huge body completely enveloping hers. It felt like she was burning and his scent was choking her but she couldn't stop laughing all the same.

"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves." Jacob put her down and they both turned to see Bella leaning against the doorframe, watching them with a faint smile. "That was Charlie, he won't be home tonight." Jacob's body tensed a little.

"Another attack?" Bella nodded. "There's been a string of animal attacks in the area recently." He added purely for Alice's benefit. The tiny vampire's mind instantly turned to Laurent for where there was one of the nomads there was possibly the other. Victoria.

"Alice? Could you stay?" Insecurity had crept back into Bella's eyes and she was wringing her hands. "Charlie said it was ok. You can too Jake, he said he trusts you." The three of them shared a short laugh.  
"Sure. Home would probably be a little…empty with only me anyway." Alice shrugged with a smile. Jacob gave a lopsided grin and nudged Alice.

"What kind of guy would I be if I left you two alone?" Bella's smile lit up her entire face and that was enough of a reward for Alice to do near enough anything she thought as her heart swelled.

"Now Bell. We need to tell you something." Jacob broached the subject, eyes glittering half with excitement and half with worry. Alice knew he needn't worry, Bella would accept him even if he was a zombie.

"You two aren't dating already are you?" It was a half-hearted attempt at a joke as her eyes darted between them.

"No Bella we're not." Alice screwed up her nose a little at the thought. "No offence Jake." He held up his hands in a 'none taken' gesture as he guided Bella to the sofa, sitting beside her on it.

"Those wolves in the forest? One of them was Jacob."

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*insert shocked music here* and yay for Alice/Jacob friendshippiness I do so like when those two get along :)


	5. V: Interspecies Sleepover

Yay another chapter :D and another yay because I'm finally getting round to going to see Eclipse on Thursday :D I'll have all new subtexty stuffs to work with :D

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"What!" Bella's voice rose in pitch and volume at the news that her best friend was one of the beasts that she had seen roaming the forest surrounding her home. Alice quickly smothered a smile because unless she was very mistaken Jacob was the brownfur who had placed his razor sharp teeth to her throat. "Tell me you're kidding." Jacob shrugged; clenching and unclenching his jaw giving Alice the impression that he was trying to expand on what had been said but orders from Sam were stopping him.

"He's a werewolf." Alice supplied and was rewarded with a painful smile from the boy. "His alpha won't let him talk to you about it. He physically couldn't tell anyone if he wanted to." Bella sat down heavily.

"Alpha? Like in a wolf pack?" Jacob relaxed slightly and sat beside the human as the topic changed slightly.

"Yeah just like a normal wolf pack. The alpha, Sam is the leader. What he says goes and there's no way to disobey." He fell into thoughtful silence for a second before speaking up again: "I hinted at it with the stories but I don't think you quite caught on." Bella gave a sheepish smile.

"Well you did emphasise the legend part." She muttered sending both the werewolf and the vampire into quiet laughter.

"Whatever you say Bells." He punched her lightly on the shoulder with a Cheshire grin as she shot him a mock glare.

"Which one were you?" Jacob sobered quickly, his dark eyes darting to Alice momentarily before returning to Bella.

"The brown one. The black was Sam and the grey was Leah."  
"You were going to bite Alice." Jacob placed a hand on the back of his neck and Alice tried to restrain the giggle that was bubbling in her chest. He tried an apologetic smile but only succeeded in making the vampire laugh aloud. Jacob glared at her but she couldn't force herself to stop not when Bella was looking so serious and Jake so anxious. She clasped a hand to her ribs as they began to ache and tried to swallow the laughter. "He was going to kill you, stop laughing."  
"Sam would never have let him kill me. It'd break the treaty." Alice managed to stop laughing long enough to speak and forced some unnecessary breaths into her lungs.

"Treaty?" Bella looked thoroughly confused. "You guys knew about the werewolves and you didn't say anything?" Alice sobered quickly and answered before Jacob could even try.

"We didn't know they were still around. The wolves were here the last time we were but that was over a hundred years ago. The treaty meant that as long as we didn't bite any humans and stayed away from Quileute lands they'd leave us alone."

"Sorry for almost biting you by the way." Jacob smiled warmly and Alice found herself smiling back even though she was still all but choking on the earthy scent of werewolf.

"It's all good Jake. You get used to it." She winked and out of the corner of her eye saw the beginnings of a blush creeping along Bella's neck. "Oh come on Bella I bite to eat." The blush deepened and a devilish glint was born in her golden eyes. "What are you thinking?"  
"Nothing." Bella's face was tomato red and Jacob chuckled softly.

"Come on Bells you can tell us." The human tried to hide behind her dark hair as her friends laughed. "And I thought you were the most innocent person in the room." The werewolf shook his head in mock disappointment.

"I'm going to kick you guys out." Bella muttered darkly as the blush began to recede.

"You wouldn't." Jacob gasped sharing a horrified look with Alice. She giggled; she'd been right about Jacob. He was a good guy.  
"Yeah you love us too much." The vampire and the werewolf shared a high five and the human groaned and buried her head in her arms.

"I'm so doomed."

/

Alice found herself sat on the front steps of the Swan house early the next morning, watching the ever-pale sun force itself over the trees and into the clouds. Bella and Jacob were fast asleep, still on the sofa. The girl was curled into his chest as if she was seeking his warmth, the image had made her smile softly and when she'd left the room Jacob had slung a protective arm around Bella.

It was slightly cold outside but Alice couldn't feel it as she let her mind wander towards her family. She had left them without a word and only Jasper knew where she was. Briefly she entertained the idea that someone would follow her down and she wouldn't have to live in the huge Cullen house alone but she knew that none of them would. Jasper was simply settled in Alaska, Rosalie didn't much care for Bella and Emmett wouldn't disobey his wife, Esme wouldn't leave her family and Carlisle wouldn't uproot them again. She sighed when she realised that the only member of her family that was likely to return to Forks was Edward and that would only be to force her to leave again.

"Alice?" A familiar voice broke her away from her thoughts and she looked up to see Charlie Swan closing the door of his cruiser and wondered how she'd missed him pulling up in the first place.

"Morning Chief." She offered him a smile and got to her feet, holding the front door open for him. "Busy night?" The man's moustache twitched into a smile as he entered his house, passing the slumbering duo en route to the kitchen. Alice followed him, leaning against the doorway as she watched him remove his gun and hang it on a hook just inside the room.

"Yeah." He muttered, flicking the switch on the coffee machine without looking before sitting at the table.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Alice frowned taking the seat opposite him.

"It's too early." He cracked another smile. "I'm sorry for asking this but how long do you plan on staying?" Alice smiled back and leaned on the table.

"It's ok I'll move back in home tonight but is it ok if I visit like everyday?" Charlie chuckled dryly for a moment.

"Kiddo. I meant in Forks and you know it." Alice dropped her smile. She had been expecting this conversation from the second she arrived back in Forks.

"At least until I graduate." The police chief's smile became a little more genuine and a touch more worried.

"And the rest of your family?"  
"Are staying in Alaska." Charlie rolled his shoulders.

"Does Carlisle know you're here?" Alice shrugged with what she hoped was a winning smile. "You know I'll have to send you back unless you have his permission to stay right?" She sighed. "I'm sorry Alice."  
"I know Chief." Alice pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly dialled the house phone of the place in Alaska. After a few seconds of dial tone the phone was lifted. "Hello?"  
"Alice." The voice on the other end growled her name and she grimaced at Charlie.  
"Edward." The man's face fell and anger sparked in his dark eyes. "Is Carlisle there?" She tried to be polite, nonchalant even though she could hear him snarl softly at her.

"How could you do this to me?" She rolled her eyes and leaned back on her chair as she inspected the nails of her free hand. "How dare you? I told you to stay away from her and as soon as I'm gone you go running off to Isabella. You'll get her killed."  
"Edward." The name came out as a drawl and she saw Charlie hide a smirk behind his hand. "Seriously stop."  
"No Alice you stop. I'm coming to bring you home." Anger stirred in her dead blood.

"I am home." She muttered. "But I'm guessing Carlisle isn't I'll call his cell." Before her brother could answer she hung up on him. "Jerk." The word fell from her lips and Charlie choked on a laugh as she dialled a new number. "Hey Carlisle." She chimed as it was answered on the first ring.

"Alice." Her pseudo father answered. "Edward isn't best pleased with you." He sounded amused and Alice smiled to herself.

"I know he answered the house phone. Chief Swan wanted to know if I had your permission to stick around." Carlisle laughed quietly.

"I think your old enough to live alone by now Alice." If he had sounded amused before he now sounded very entertained.

"You tell him that." Alice laughed with her pseudo father before handing the phone to Charlie and leaving the room: she could hear Bella beginning to stir.

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I really need to get Edward back to Forks or something I want to see blood! or at least a maiming of some kind :P Thanks for reading...


	6. VI: A Family Understanding

Sorry for the humongous gap between chapters there I got a little addicted to Sims 2 it's so fun playing God to all those people :D

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"Good morning." Alice smiled looking into the living room as Bella and Jacob began to stir. The human girl sat up slowly, stretching out her limbs, almost catlike, and gave a soft, contented noise. Alice felt her lips twitch into a small smile as a mental image of Bella as a cat drifted into her mind.

"'Morning A-Alice." Bella yawned behind her hand. The vampire couldn't restrain a quiet giggle as Jacob vaulted off of the sofa with a brilliant grin and a sparkle in his dark eyes. Bella shot them both dark looks. "I hate you both."  
"Aw come on Bell you don't mean that." Jacob pouted and Bella rolled her eyes as she finally got to her feet.

"Ok Alice, Carlisle says you have his full permission to stay." Charlie wandered into the room. "It's good to see you back but he also says to warn you that…your brother might try something." Alice nodded sagely without shifting her gaze from Bella's eyes, determined to catch every nuance in the girl's mood and thoughts. At the mention of Edward, brief and obscure as it was, a shadow had appeared to cross the deep brown turning it deepest black

"Thanks Charlie." She gave the police chief a warm smile ignoring the responding devilish grin that appeared on Jacob's face.

"Are you going to be ok if he does?" There seemed to be honest concern in Charlie's voice and Alice turned fully to him, beaming.

"I'll be fine sir. I can take him." She winked and she heard dual snickers that were quickly turned into coughs from beside her. Charlie cast an appraising eye over her build and she realised that she was, in reality, only just over half Edward's size and her friend's father was honestly worried for her safety. "Honestly Chief. I'll be fine. Scout's honour." She gave a smart salute to which Charlie smiled and shook his head.

"What're you kids up to today then?" Bella shrugged, looking from Alice to Jacob.

"I dunno. Jake?" The werewolf shrugged with a lazy smile.

"I got nothing." They both turned their gazes onto Alice but she held up her hands, taking a step backwards.

"I'm going to move back in at home. It's going to take some extensive shopping." She watched the faux horror dawn on their faces and bit down the rising giggle. "So I'll leave you guys be today. Have fun for me." She cast Jacob a glance that ordered more than told him to look after Bella and tossed a wink to the human. Alice was dancing out of the door before she could see the faint blush rise on Bella's face.

She really didn't want to leave Bella alone, not so soon after coming back into her life but even Alice couldn't deny the need to set up house again. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay at Bella's house long before Charlie noticed that she didn't sleep, or eat or even breathe half the time. She also knew that both Bella and Jacob understood what she was doing but she found that it didn't make her heart ache any less.  
Halfway down the road the image of her family's living room blocked her sight of the street. Edward was pacing the room obviously agitated and occasionally flicking his gaze to the clock that still resided on the pale wall. A horrible sense of foreboding flooded Alice's stomach but she kept moving. If anything she sped her pace up, jogging towards the Cullen house and once she was out of sight she found herself in a headlong sprint.

/

By the time Alice skidded to a halt on the driveway of her home Edward was leaning beside the front door a smirk playing around his pale lips. "You're late." He muttered, treacle eyes gleaming.

"I was busy." She countered, folding her arms and glaring up at him. She refused to forgive him, even to consider it, for what he had done. For what he had threatened to do.

"I have no doubt. Won't you come in?" He wandered deeper into the house without waiting for an answer. Alice found herself following him and with each step she felt surer that she was not walking into her home. But rather the lion's den. She found him in the hall, sitting on the stairs, looking for all the world like an average teenage boy. He ran a pale hand through his windswept hair. "It's time to come home Mary Alice." Edward taunted her by using her human name. Instead of retorting she leant comfortably against the wall but didn't dare relax.

"I am home." She repeated their conversation in exactly the same calm voice as before. "And I'm not leaving again. I'm not leaving Bella again." Alice watched her brother's eyes soften slightly.

"How could you do this to me Alice?" He changed his tactics and she scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"This isn't about you Edward. When will that get through your thick skull?" Her voice was quiet but the edge was unmistakable. Edward's nostrils flared and he stood, beginning to pace. Alice's muscles tensed as one each time he passed her, knowing that with him so close to her she would have precious little time to react.

"You're right of course. This is about Bella and Bella doesn't want nor need us here. We should never have integrated ourselves into her life in the first place. She would've been much better off." Alice clenched her fists and the rage that she just knew Edward was trying to draw out began to course through her cold veins.

"She would've been _dead_!" She yelled in his face. "How can you claim to know what Bella needs let alone what she wants? This is just a game to you isn't it? Pick her up when you want her and then leave her. Cut your ties not because you don't love her. Because you know she doesn't _need_ you so you make her. When were you planning on coming back to play the knight in shining armour Edward? Before or after she killed herself trying to _hear your voice_?" Alice didn't know where the tirade had come from, nor did she know when she had started outright screaming at her brother but she could pinpoint the exact moment Edward's eyes darkened to pitch black as his own rage surfaced. Their tempers had always been one of the things they'd had in common, yet another reason that they had become so close but often it was the one thing that set them at loggerheads. Their whole family knew to avoid an argument between the youngest 'children' at all costs.

Edward whirled on her, pinning her to the wall with enough force to shake it and placed his muscled forearm against her throat. It wouldn't choke her but it would hold her still. Dark gold eye blazed into his.

"How dare you question me where Isabella is concerned?" Alice laughed in his face but didn't even attempt to struggle in his grip.

"This is the _21__st_ Century Edward. Not the 20th. You are not the final authority on Bella and I highly doubt you ever will be." Edward sneered down at her, switching his arm for his hand and clenching the fist slightly even as he pushed her harder against the wall. Her skin was cracking along with the plaster; she could feel both.

"She'll never love you like you love her." Alice stayed silent, trying to ignore the sudden rush of emotion that welled up in her chest, trying to pretend that she didn't recognise the emotion for what it was. "Some would say it's a shame your _husband_ figured you out before even you did. I find it slightly ironic. Considering you're psychic and all." Edward gave a cold chuckle, releasing his sister and watching her fall to the floor, back against the wall with her head resting her head in the bottom of the dent her body had made in that same wall. He looked down on her unseeing eyes as he reached into his pocket, clenching his fist around a small object. He dropped it into the girl's lap. "Jasper sends his love." Edward turned abruptly on his heel. "I'll be back for you tomorrow Mary Alice. And the next day. And the next. And the next. Until you come with me."

Alice watched him walk away as a hollow feeling took up residence in her body. She felt like Edward had reached into her chest and simply ripped everything out. One of her pale hands found the object in her lap and instantly recognised it for what it was. A thick band of burnished gold. Worn and scratched but so obviously coveted. Alice turned Jasper's wedding ring over in her hands with a sad gleam in her eyes, wishing she could cry at the same time glad she couldn't.

* * *

Ok is it only me who wants to give Alice a big hug right now? Yeah I'm actually feeling a little guilty for always casting Edward as the villain here too...may have to write him a happy ending at some point.


	7. VII: Everything Burns

Ok I've been in Bella's head...guilty feelings gone and has been replaced with a burning desire to see Edward punished...

* * *

Alice heard a car pull up outside the house. She still hadn't moved and had no intention of doing so. She simply stared at the ring in her hands with unseeing eyes and tried to understand. It wasn't like Jasper to just give up on something. Especially a relationship. It wasn't even like him to get someone else to deliver his messages. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. The whole situation was wrong. So very wrong.  
"Maybe she's not home. She did say she was going shopping." It was Jacob's voice outside and he sounded uneasy. A phrase that Alice's parents had like to use when referring to her sprang unbidden to mind. The lights are on but nobody's home. They had honestly believed their daughter to be crazy and at that moment Alice couldn't help but agree.

"Her car's here Jake." Bella's voice was the next to reach her ears and it was Edward's voice that she brought to mind. 'She'll never love you like you love her.' Suddenly, nothing seemed to happen slowly anymore, Alice found herself praying that Bella would turn around. Go back to the reservation with Jacob. Go anywhere that wasn't where Alice was. "The door's open." Alice cursed Edward aloud for the first time since he'd left. Seconds later there was a presence at her side. Bella. "Alice? What happened?"  
"Edward." The word was enough to send the atmosphere between them plummeting into coldness but the warm hand on Alice's shoulder seemed to set her freezing flesh aflame.

"He came back?" Jacob was looking down on her now. She hated looking helpless, hated even more people seeing her so. She forced herself into a half standing position, still leaning on the crippled wall. "Alice what happened to the wall?"  
"I did." I bitter words fell from her lips before she could stop them. There was worry in Bella's dark eyes but there was also a burning desire to look for Edward. The ring in her fist burned almost as much as Bella's touch. "But don't worry; Edward's fine." Hurt flashed through the human's eyes.

"I wasn't worried about him." Bella murmured softly eyes dropping to Alice's neck. The vampire was suddenly very aware of the deep crack in her marble flesh and the pain burned white hot. Everything burned. Bella's hand moved to run a finger across the crack and Alice flinched away. "Edward did this?" The hand gestured to the wall as if that's what it had meant to do all along. Alice looked away unable to answer: she wanted to tell Bella, to turn her against Edward and that disgusted her but she wanted to tell her, to warn her about him and at the same time she didn't want to say a word. She didn't want this fragile human, this beautiful human to search him out and draw out this side of him.

"Yeah Edward did it alright. His stink's all over this place." Jacob was the one who answered and Alice was surprised to hear a protective note in his voice even as it shook with anger. "Don't deny it Shorts I can smell him on you too." Two pairs of blazing brown eyes looked down on her forcing her to turn her back on them.

"Alice are you ok?" Bella's warm hand landed back on her shoulder and Alice's breath caught in her chest; the fire was almost painful but it was a good pain. A clear, bright and cleansing pain. The tiny vampire whirled around and threw herself into Bella's arms, letting the searing heat surround her and listening to her heart relax for the first time since her brother had left.

"I'm going to set the pack on his sparkly ass." Jacob said before ambling outside, dropping his clothes behind him. If someone had told her mere days ago that a werewolf would be rushing to her aid she would have laughed in their face but not now. She smiled into Bella's shoulder.

"That got a smile then? Jake's good at that." Bella's arms had fallen, almost naturally into a ring around the tiny girl's waist and she had found that it was a comfortable, soft embrace. The human couldn't help but compare that hug to the ones she had shared with Edward; those hugs were cold, hard and his flesh unyielding. The perfect opposite of his sister's. She sighed softly at the smouldering anger in her stomach at what Edward had done to Alice and noticed that for the first time she didn't care if he never came back.

"I saw." Alice pulled away from Bella smiling weakly. As soon as they were apart she felt the loss and the cold began to creep back into her body until she felt she could shiver. Holding out her hand to Bella she uncurled her fist to reveal the gleaming ring that lay cushioned in her palm. "Jasper's wedding ring." She commented softly. Bella's intake of breath was comforting more than anything. It told her that she didn't believe it either.

"Why? Was he here too?" Alice shook her head. Bella's eyes hardened until they resembled dark metal. "Then Edward's lying." The vampire hadn't expected that response, hadn't even though of it herself. She opened her mouth to argue. "I don't know how he got the ring but Jasper wouldn't do this to anyone. Definitely not to you Alice." The human's hands closed Alice's fingers around the ring again and the vampire had to fight to keep her eyes from fluttering closed at the warmth in the contact. "Ok?" Alice hummed softly lost in the sensation of the human's touch. She hated Edward for bringing this to her attention but silently she thanked him too. "_Ok_ Alice?" She chuckled quietly.

"Ok Bella. Ok." Alice placed the ring carefully into her pocket and pulled Bella back to her, smiling into her shoulder again.

"Good." Bella grinned. "I hate seeing you upset it's unnatural." An awkward cough tore their attention from each other and towards Jacob who was stood in the doorway, his shirt only half on.

"We got him. Seth's waiting for us over by the border. We good to go?" Alice didn't miss the flash of jealousy in his dark eyes or the way they dropped to the break in her neck that still had started to heal. She'd need to call Carlisle as soon as she could, just in case. She cast Bella a concerned glance.

"We take Bells home first." She muttered, knowing that Jacob would understand. They couldn't risk a relapse, not when Bella had only just climbed out of her depression.

"I'm coming with you." The human's voice was sharp and her face was determined as she looked between the two supernatural beings. "I know you're going to fight him and I don't care. I want to make him see what he did." Pride mingled with sadness welled in Alice's heart and all she wanted to do was hug all of Bella's pain away but that wasn't her place so she simply nodded and followed Jacob out of the door, closing all of her emotions bar rage away for another time.

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Aw aren't they sweet :) I couldn't sleep knowing Alice was sad so I had to get up and type Bella cheering her up...thanks for reading my nighttime ramblings by the way it is very much appreciated :)


	8. VIII: Confronting the Problem

Halfway through this chapter I realised that I actually know where I'm headed with this fic. It's such a novel feeling that it made my entire day :D

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Alice and Jacob raced through the forest side by side. The vampire had dropped her pace so he could keep up even in his human form and Bella was cradled in his arms. She refused to acknowledge the dull smouldering in the pit of her stomach that the sight brought her; she had to focus on the matter at hand not stray, misguided feelings that even her visions hadn't seen coming.

Alice shook her head as they passed the boundary line into Quileute territory. She was out of bounds now and she knew that above all else she needed to keep her wits about her. A wild laugh from her left drew a thin smile: Jacob at least was finding entertainment in her troubles. Ahead his yell was seemingly answered by a pained howl. "Seth." The name fell from Jacob's lips as a horrified expression broke across his russet features even as his speed increased. Alice pulled level with him easily and by the time another howl broke the silence of the forest they could see the young wolf.

Seth was lying on his side at the base of a tree but he was back on his feet quickly. Jacob placed Bella onto her feet, clothes already beginning to tear, before flinging himself onto all fours and into wolfen form. The two wolves dusty grey and deepest brown prowled together towards the lone figure in the centre of the clearing.  
Edward's eyes were black as pitch and narrowed to slits. Each muscle in his body was visibly tensed and there was already dark blood staining his pale fists. Alice could see beads of ruby liquid glistening in Seth's fur. She let a rumbling growl leave her chest: it was one thing for him to threaten her but attacking an innocent boy and endangering an age-old treaty was another beast altogether.

"You let wolves fight your battles now Mary Alice? I never thought you to be a coward." Alice bristled watching the sleek wolves slink ever nearer to her brother. "And Isabella too. How are you my love?"

"You don't talk to her!" Alice yelled and as if her voice was a cue Seth leapt forwards only to be met with Edward's open hand. Edward's fist closed around the greyfur's throat and he began to squeeze. Seth whimpered and Jacob roared flying at the vampire with blurring speed. He was batted away by a seemingly lazy flap of Edward's free hand.

"I hardly see how you are in a position to be giving orders here _little sister_." She glared up at the bronze headed boy, contempt burning in her eyes.

"Edward you're killing him!" Bella's terrified voice broke their stalemate and, almost carelessly, Edward let the greyfur fall to the leaf covered ground where the fur retracted and a russet skinned boy was left lying unmoving in its place. "How could you do that?" Unconsciously Alice drifted to the side, blocking her brother's view of Bella as she watched Jacob stalk around him waiting for any opportunity to strike.

"I was attacked Bella. I had to defend myself." Edward's silken voice caressed the words and Alice's icy blood began to boil again.  
"And when you attacked Alice earlier?" Her words wavered slightly and her voice shook as Edward's dark eyes connected with her own. Bella attempted to move closer to him but Alice's outstretched arm stopped her with very little effort.

"I wanted to come back to you Bella but dear Mary Alice did not wish for this to happen. I fear my sister may want you for herself." Bella turned around slowly, brown eyes confused and strangely unfocused.

"What does he mean?" The human sounded lost and that enraged her more than anything else she had seen her brother do. She launched herself at him with an echoing snarl, ivory teeth flashing bright. Following her lead Jacob snapped at Edward's legs. "NO!" Bella's scream was distant compared to the phantom sound of blood pounding in Alice's ears as she knocked her brother to the ground. Jacob buried his teeth into Edward's shin, snapping the bone and giving a bloodstained, wolfy grin. Edward's other leg lashed out, the foot connecting with the side of the wolf's head gave a sickening crack. Jacob crumpled. "STOP IT!" Alice punched Edward in the face and her fist left a sizable crack behind. Bella didn't understand. As long as Edward was alive it would never stop. It would keep coming back to this moment, his lover screaming in the background and Alice relenting after he had begged forgiveness. Their family blind to Edward's lies. But she would make it stop.

Alice crashed another fist into Edward's mouth and this time dead blood welled from his lips. "ALICE STOP!" Bella's voice echoed in her skull, reverberating around her brain. Slowly she got to her feet, long dead blood tarnishing her knuckles and her brother laughing at her, her blood from her broken knuckles mixed with his own staining his teeth.

"Coward." Edward chuckled as she turned her back on him. Alice could feel Bella's gaze burning her as she moved to check on the fallen wolves, now boys, but she couldn't look at her. Couldn't see the horror or the disappointment that was sure to be reflected back at her. Edward was right. She was a monster, they both were. "You see? I was right all along." His voice was a soft croon that was too quiet for Bella to hear even as she stepped closer to them.

"He's not worth it." Both vampires' heads snapped around to look at her. The look in the deep brown eyes was steely and determined instead of glassy when she looked at Edward and a sneer pulled at her lips. "Just go Edward. I don't want you here." Jacob stirred feebly and with a jolt of horror Alice saw blood running down the side of his face, she helped him to stand, most of his wait resting on her shoulder before picking up Seth one handed and slinging him over the other.

"Goodbye Edward." Alice muttered walking away.

A roar mingled with a scream stopped her in her tracks and her neck cracked as she turned to see Edward racing towards Bella, ignoring his snapped leg.

She knew he was moving at inhuman speeds but she saw it in slow motion, she could see each and every muscle contracting and relaxing with each step. Reacting without thinking she let Jacob and Seth fall to the ground and flew to intercept her brother. She reached the girl milliseconds before he did but as always he moved faster. His fist connected with her face, shattering her jaw. Alice howled as she plunged her own fist into her brother's chest and grasped his spine.

"Alice. Please." She wouldn't have answered if she could. A simple flick of her wrist snapped his spine clean in two and Edward Cullen sagged to the floor, jet black eyes blank and staring.

"You killed him." Alice stumbled past her brother's corpse and plucked the small lighter from the remains of Jacob's clothes, setting Edward alight. "Alice. You just _killed_ him." Alice wasn't surprised to see tears streaming from Bella's eyes; she was too good not to be affected by the death of her ex-boyfriend but with her jaw all but hanging from her face she couldn't defend her actions.

"She had to." Jacob's voice was soft and his head was still steadily bleeding. "He was going to kill you." Alice gave him a nod of gratitude, wincing when it jarred her jaw. She helped him to his feet.

"You didn't have to kill him." Jacob pulled Seth into his arms, slinging one limp arm over his shoulders. Silently Alice mimicked him on the boy's other side. "_Alice_." The vampire tossed her a pointed look and tore her mouth open.

"_What Bella_?" Bella's face softened instantly as dead blood dropped from Alice's mouth to stain the leaves and her marble features twisted in pain.

"You're hurt. I'm sorry." Returning to silence Alice began the walk home with Seth hanging limply between her and Jacob and a remorseful Bella trailing behind.

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Hmm...I'm reading Harry Potter right now so I think Bella may have been confunded :D


	9. IX: Curious Timing Indeed

Thank you for your kind reviews. And of course thank you muchly to **Atrum Nox Noctis**. I appreciate the help :)

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Alice let Jacob guide their bedraggled group to his house, barely conscious as he was he was still much more use that she. Alice had buried herself in her thoughts. What she had done was wrong. Killing Edward was wrong. If she were human she would be tried and most likely convicted for cold-blooded murder. No pun intended. And while she was not human it was still murder. She had entered that clearing with every intention of killing her brother and none of the events afterward could change that tiny, but oh-so-significant fact. "We're here, Alice." Jacob's voice was wispy in her ear. She returned her focus to the sight before her to find that she was stood before the wooden door of his house. She nodded her thanks: her jaw, while still sending spikes of pain through her skull, felt as if it had been pinned shut.

Jacob slipped his arm from around her and gave the door a weak push before stumbling inside. "Just put Seth on the sofa." The wolf whispered as he disappeared deeper into the house, no doubt to find his father. The rest of the pack would be arriving soon. She knew that. Alice also knew that it would be best if she wasn't there when they did. The pack needed to see their friends were ok, if slightly battered. They needed to see Bella was alive and the treaty was unbroken. They did not need to see Alice on their land. They did not need to see Alice at all.

Alice gently placed Seth onto the well-worn sofa as carefully as she could. Lying there he could almost be sleeping after a long day, instead of waiting to regain consciousness after a fight. Smiling in a twisted, painful grimace she brushed a lock of curly hair from his blisteringly warm face. Alice turned on her heel to leave, only to come face to collarbone with Bella. She had almost forgotten the human's presence. Bella swallowed heavily. Alice refused to meet her gaze.

"You did the right thing, Alice. I just wish you hadn't had to kill him." The vampire shrugged, trying to affect an air of indifference. Inside she knew that she wished she hadn't killed him too. But she was happy it had been her. "Are you ok?" One of Bella's hands raised itself, almost of its own accord, to caress the mutilated jaw. Alice's eyes fluttered closed in the mingled pain and pleasure of the human's heated touch. The answer that Alice wanted to give, the truth, was that no, she wasn't ok. She Mary Alice Brandon Hale Cullen was a very long way from being ok. But the sadness in Bella's doe brown eyes made her lie, purely to see a spark of relief light in them. She nodded. Bella's relief seemed to make Alice's own heart seem lighter and her lips twitched in the painful grimace her smile had become.

"The pack are on their way. They'll be here any minute. Take a seat, I'll explain everything to them." Jacob was leaning against the doorframe with. His face had already begun to regain some of its colour. Alice was glad as Bella moved for a chair and she turned to leave. "Alice. Stay. They'll understand, and if they don't, I'll make them." The vampire kept walking. She wasn't sure how he had moved so fast but seconds later Jacob's hand was on her shoulder. "Me and Seth would've been toast if you weren't there. You deserve to be here as much as anyone." Alice turned slowly and looked into his dark eyes, trying to use her eyes to convey everything she wanted to tell him. It may have worked because after nearly a minute of staring down at her, Jacob removed his hand and nodded slowly. "I'll see you soon?" Alice gave a non-committal jerk of her head and wandered away, breaking into a sprint as soon as she was outside again.

/

The sun was setting by the time she reached the Cullen house. Alice couldn't place where the rest of the day had disappeared too; time had never passed that quickly to her. Not within her memory anyway. Lost in thoughts of time, she didn't notice the sleek black car parked beside Bella's truck until she was passing between the two. It was Carlisle's car. Suddenly she dreaded entering her own home, knowing that she would have to relay the news that her father's favourite son was dead. By her own hand no less.

She stopped still for a second, simply feeling the pulsing agony of her jaw. Finally a brief spurt of courage made Alice dash inside, her figure blurring until she reached the kitchen table, where Carlisle Cullen was sat. "Alice." He breathed her name in something like relief, but she remained stock still as he pulled her into a hug. "I left as soon as I saw that Edward was gone." He pulled away, a confused look in his golden eyes. "Are you ok?" Alice quirked a delicate eyebrow. "Of course. I assume that Edward did this?" There was a hint of hope in his voice. Hope that he was wrong, and hope that someone else had been the one to break his daughter's jaw. Alice said nothing. Grief flooded golden eyes and Carlisle turned away, letting orange light play across his face. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Alice rolled her eyes, almost opening her mouth to speak, but the pain forced it closed again. A stroke of inspiration streaked through her brain, she flitted from the room. Seconds later she burst into her and Jasper's old room. She snatched a dusty sketchpad and pencil from the desk before fleeing back downstairs. Alice skidded to a stop in the kitchen just in time to see Carlisle turn, raising a bemused eyebrow.

It didn't take Alice long to scribble down the events of the afternoon because of her vampire speed. However it took Carlisle nearly five minutes to read. He'd had to read it through three times in order for the story to sink in. "He's dead?" Alice inclined her head slowly, unable to meet her father's eyes. "What made you-" Alice snatched back the sketchpad, already writing furiously before Carlisle even finished his sentence. She underlined what she had written with such energy that she ripped the page.

'_He tried to kill Bella!'_

"Yes." Carlisle's voice was filled with the unerring patience he tended to use at work. "But you know, Alice. You know that the murder of a fellow vampire is the one crime the Volturi takes seriously." Angrily Alice tapped her message again.

'_Who says they have to know?'_ Her narrow writing marred another page, her eyes burned into Carlisle's handsome face. Surely he would not hand her over to the Volturi for protecting an innocent. For killing his favourite child. Blind to Edward's faults though he was, surely he would not send her to her death too.

"The Volturi are in Atlanta. Aro wanted to investigate the human deaths there, personally." Alice felt a chill race through her veins. "A redheaded nomad told him of Bella. Of wolves." The chill was replaced with burning anger: this must have been Victoria's revenge. "Aro has been meaning to visit us for a long time now. He has been meaning to meet the children he has heard so much about." Carlisle marked a beat, just long enough for horror to freeze Alice's heart. "He always had curious timing."

* * *

Yeah well...to be honest I'm feeling like writing a tragedy right now, but Alice is my favourite, so this could go either way. I can't believe I keep doing this to her. I'd much rather give her a hug and have done with it but a more sadistic side of me likes to watch her squirm :)


	10. X: Kiss of the Condemned

I apologise, my friends, for the delay, but I've been on holiday and out of reach of my laptop's keys. Also, _'boo', _my anonymous reviewer, thank you for your concern about the lack of Alice/Bella thus far, but I can assure you that, since this story is still in progress there is a legitimate reason for it to be so.

Now that's all out of the way...on with the story :)

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Bella raced into the Cullen house as fast as her legs could carry her. It had taken her a whole night, but she could finally see that Alice had had no choice but to kill Edward. She remembered her terror as her beloved had charged at her, and how, without a second thought, Alice had raced to her defence.

Carlisle's car was parked in the driveway. The sight of the familiar vehicle had sent her sprinting into the house: she needed to tell Carlisle that Alice hadn't had a choice. She needed to tell him that it had all been her fault, not Alice's. Never Alice's.

Bella stopped in the living room and any words that she had been about to say, died. Carlisle and Alice were sat in silence on the sofa, both staring into nothing. "It wasn't Alice's fault." The words slipped from her tongue just as another figure made itself known, rounding the corner from the kitchen with all the grace of a predator.

The tall, thin man would have been called spindly, had he been human, but the glowing ruby eyes told Bella that he was anything but. His hair was long and dark, making him seem paler than he really was; his skin seemed to glow ivory. His crimson eyes seemed to caress her body as he moved nearer. Alice tried to stand, golden eyes alight with fire, but Carlisle's steady hand kept her seated.

"I'm afraid that isn't your choice to make, Miss…" Bella could just see Alice behind the stranger, glaring daggers into his back. He was looking at Bella like she was his dinner, and he had been starving before they met. She clenched all of her courage in a mental fist.

"Swan. Bella Swan." A cold smile pulled at his lips, giving the human an impression of cracked porcelain as it spread.

"Beauty. You were named well." One thin finger traced her jaw; Bella couldn't help trying to arch away from it. This time Carlisle's hand couldn't stop Alice from jerking to her feet, and her growl, while soft was audible. The man ignored her completely and half turned to Carlisle, his finger now resting against Bella's pulse. "I apologise for searching your home Carlisle but you understand; I am vulnerable without my guard." Alice scoffed and Bella could see why; the vampire before her may be old, ancient even, but he exuded power. There was nothing vulnerable about him. "It would be catastrophic if I were tricked."

"Of course Aro." Carlisle bowed his head in respect and stood slowly. Bella was stricken suddenly by how tired the doctor looked. "You wish to know the circumstances of my son's death." Bella didn't understand, but then a ghost of Edward's voice reached her ears.

'_Aro, Marcus and Caius Volturi are the final authority when it comes to our kind. Their laws are only flexible to them, to others breaking them, means death. Or what equates to death for our kind.'_ Bella's eyes found Alice's, she was shocked to see the resignation, and suddenly, she knew. She knew that in killing Edward, Alice had brought down the wrath of the Volturi. That by saving Bella, Alice had damned herself. Her heart burned; she couldn't let them kill Alice. She couldn't lose her too.

"Edward was trying to kill me." Aro's blood red eyes rolled slightly to focus on her, seeming to dip into black when they finally lighted on her face. "Alice saved me." Bella could feel a blush rising on her face, and her voice had wavered, but she held her ground, even though her knees felt weak, and her hands were shaking.  
"Noble though her actions may have been. Alice has committed a crime." A little anger flared to life in the human's heart, heating her blood. Pale nostrils flared.

"There were extenuating circumstances." It was a mocking smile that pulled at Aro's lips now. He looked down on her with twinkling eyes.

"You seem to think that our laws are the same as yours, human. They are not. Alice, you have a choice to make." All eyes in the room flicked straight to the smallest Cullen. She seemed to grow taller under their scrutiny. Her jaw had healed to a hairline crack through delicate china, but it still glared out at Bella, a badge of honour. "You can serve us, Alice, as one of our guard." Alice ignored Aro, her eyes fixed solely on Bella, her face impassive. "That would be enough to repent for your crime." There was a hint of pleading, of greed, in his voice but, still, Alice wouldn't look at him. After nearly a minute of silence, Alice nodded.

"A lifetime of servitude?" Golden eyes locked against ruby. "I'd rather die." Bella felt the words like a punch to the stomach. Aro's nostrils flared and he tossed his head.

"So be it. You have two days." He swept out of the room, dark cloak billowing behind him like wings.

"I'm proud of you." Carlisle's voice was soft as he passed Alice, following Aro outside. A small smile pulled at Alice's lips, she closed her eyes.

"You can't do this. You can't die for saving me." Bella started towards her, heart on fire. It hadn't hurt this much when Edward had died. Not even when he'd left. "It's not fair."  
"It's very fair, Isabella." A shiver raced down Bella's spine. Alice's eyes opened, glimmering in the false light. "Trust me when I say it is fair. I can think of no better way to die. It's a chivalrous death. That's fairer than most." Alice was scaring her, but the blazing intensity of her liquid gold eyes pulled her in. She was drowning in gold.

"I don't want you to die." Her voice reached her from afar. As if her mouth was a long way away from her ears.

"I know." But wherever her ears were, Alice was closer to them. A small, ice-cold hand laid itself across Bella's cheek. "But whatever will be, will be." The hand's thumb was drawing soft circles on her flesh. Bella had to fight not to lose herself in the sensation. She was already sure she was going deaf, and she couldn't remember closing her eyes, but she had to open them to look at Alice. "I'm going to die the day after tomorrow." Alice sounded lost. Bella always hated seeing Alice down; it just wasn't right, but now it was like seeing Alice upset, dragged her down too. "Can I have a last wish?" Right in that moment, Bella would have given Alice anything.

"It won't be a last wish Alice. Tomorrow's going to be all about you. I promise. Shopping, Bella-Barbie, anything." Alice smiled softly.

"I want to see you and Jacob. Nothing else." A childish jealously crept into Bella's mind: she didn't want to share Alice with Jacob. "But today. Today, I just want to know if he was right." Bella didn't need to ask who 'he' was. The only name that Alice wouldn't speak was Edward's.

"About what?" Alice's face was only millimetres from her own so she couldn't miss the devilish smile that pulled at her lips, as their noses brushed. Nor could she miss the flash of emotion that was born in golden eyes at the contact.  
"About you. About me. About he and Jasper, to a certain degree." Silently Bella willed Alice to get to the point. "Only about this." Slowly, which in itself was odd, because Alice _never_ did _anything_ slowly, Alice brushed her icy lips across Bella's.

* * *

Well...I for one can't believe I just condemned Alice to death...it just can't end like this...


	11. XI: If Today Was Your Last Day

Another chapter...by my calculations there's only going to be two more after this...wow...thank you for all your lovey reviews my friends.

* * *

As slowly as Alice had initiated the gentle contact, she pulled back. Her dead heart was fluttering like a butterfly in a spider's web, but she made herself stay still. Bella's eyes were closed and the expression on her face was unreadable. Alice wanted to speak but the words wouldn't come, so she stood in silence, waiting for her human to open her eyes. Bella's pulse echoed in her head, it made her dizzy so she closed her eyes. "So…what was Edward right about?" Bella's musical voice reached her ears, and the vampire did not miss the slight waver. The words still wouldn't come.

"Edward believed that you wouldn't love her. Not like she loves you." A male voice filled the living room. Alice didn't need to open her eyes to recognise the southern lilt to the voice. Her heart sank slightly: Jasper. "Was he right?" There was nothing but genuine curiosity in his voice but Alice found herself cradling his wedding ring in her palm.  
"Jazz." She murmured, turning her back on Bella to look at her husband. "Jazz, I'm so-"  
"Don't say you're sorry, Allie. _Never_ say you're sorry for loving." The Southern man ambled into the room with a sad smile. "Its me who should apologise. Edward would never have known if I hadn't told him. None of this would've happened if I hadn't said anything." Alice's grip on the ring in her pocket intensified until she could feel it digging into her skin. She was amazed at the strength of the metal.

"What do you mean?" Bella's voice was a mix of confusion and anger.  
"He wanted to keep Alice away from you. Wanted you for himself. It's why he made us leave. I'm sorry." Golden eyes found the floor, sadness lurking in their depths. Alice's heart ached for him, but he flooded her with false reassurance, telling her it was ok. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she had betrayed him.

"Edward was stupid. As long as he was here, I wouldn't have looked twice at anyone else." Alice nodded to herself; her brother had been right after all. While her heart's lament had been given new voice, she felt lighter. At least she knew for sure. Jasper gave her a commiserating smile. "He was a controlling, possessive _idiot_." Alice quirked an eyebrow at the honest venom in the human's voice; she'd never heard her talk about Edward like that. There was a sense of pride in her heart now as well. She shared a glance with Jasper, and saw the same emotion on his face too.

"He gave me this." Alice pulled her hand from her pocket, holding the ring out to her husband. "I think it's yours." Jasper smiled and held up his left hand. The ring finger was missing.

"Didn't happen to give you the finger too did he, Love?" Alice couldn't restrain the giggle that bubble in her chest. Jasper hadn't given Edward the ring, he wasn't angry with her. She felt a little lighter.

"No." She coughed slightly. "No finger." Her smile was still bright. Brighter than any smile a condemned girl should be giving. Jasper shrugged, his golden eyes glimmering.

"Ah, well. Maybe Rose has seen it." He turned to leave the room, leaving the ring in Alice's hand. "The other's are in the kitchen when you're done." Alice raced over to him, holding out the ring. "Keep it Allie. Keep it with you, and know that I love you." One calloused hand brushed across her cheek and he walked away.

"I love you too." Alice whispered, closing her hand around the ring again, and slipping it back into her pocket. She wanted to see her family, but first, Bella. "I'm sorry." She murmured turning back to the human. Liquid brown eyes stared back at her, threatening to drown her in their depths. "But I had to know."  
"Don't be." Bella gave a soft smile. "Would you mind if I came to see the others with you?" Alice shook her head, happy that she hadn't ruined her friendship with the human. She would hate to have died knowing that Bella hated her. She waited for her friend in the doorway, holding the door open for her to pass. If Bella hadn't had to pass through the door sideways, almost brushing against Alice, even vampire hearing might've missed what the human said next. "Edward was wrong."

/

Jacob wandered into the Cullen house the next day, Bella at his side, with a stark white bandage tied around his head. His skull had been fractured, along with his flesh being ninety percent bruises. The bruises had healed yesterday but his skull was taking a little longer.

Bella had told him all about Alice, about the broken law, about her imminent death, and about the kiss. At first he'd been confused, jealous, and just a little angry, but suddenly everything had made sense: Alice's instinctive defence of Bella, why Edward had seemed to hate her so much, why Alice had been the only one to come back. And the emotions had faded. He understood, but his anger had cooled and while the jealousy still lingered, the hollow look to Bella's eyes had finally gone, and he found he could be happy for them. After all Alice was good for her, and to her. She was willing to die for their human. Jacob simply couldn't be angry at the pixie-like girl. He pulled her into a tight embrace as soon as he saw her. "Hey Jake." She giggled in her silken voice. "How's the head?"

"Hey, short stuff." He laughed, unwilling to bring up the topic he was burning to ask about. Tomorrow, though, would rob the girl of her cheerfulness, he simply laughed. "Couple of screws loose, nothing new." Bella chuckled along with them, but Jacob had seen her stand a little straighter when Alice had answered the door, only to relax when Jacob had hugged the vampire.

"Ask, Jake. You know you want to." As soon as he released the vampire, she crossed her arms and stared up at him with a bemused grin. "May as well get it over with." Jacob scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?" Alice's smiled drifted from her face, and Bell glared at him. Neither of them wanted to think about it, but he needed to know, even if asking made him feel like a jerk.

"I go to the Volturi camp. Alone." The vampire's eyes were glazed over and he knew she was in the throes of a vision. The pained look on her china face told him that she had seen it before. "But my family follows me anyway, never ones to follow orders. Emmett hugs me, cracks a joke. Then Aro calls me to him. He's not alone. Caius is there, and Jane; his favourite." Bella's hand found Alice's slowly, cautiously. Jacob took her other hand; it was lost in the sheer size of his own, but the ice cold flesh seemed to cool his whole body. "I stand before him. Aro talks to me. Jane's power forces me to my knees." Jacob could feel her shaking. "I can hear laughter. And then nothing. Just nothing." He shuddered as her eyes cleared again, back to sharpened gold.

"I'm sorry." Alice turned her gaze onto Bella.  
"I wish people would stop apologising. It's not like they're going to kill me." The girl's shared a smile, and all of a sudden, Jacob felt like he was intruding upon them. Intruding upon something that should remain untouched. Forever. He released Alice's hand.

"Ok, half-pint. What're we doing today?" The small vampire turned her face to him, a devilish smile overtaking her face again, as if it had never fallen.

"Oh you know. Shopping. I still need to finish refilling Bella's wardrobe. This is my last chance." She skipped towards her car, leaving Bella and Jacob to share panicked looks. From the driver's seat of her yellow car Alice shouted them. "I'm kidding. We're going into the mountains."

* * *

Thank you for reading. I should be back with another chapter in a few days for you :)


	12. XII: The Slaying of Mary Alice

Ok. Another chapter, as promised. And we have Alice's execution to look forward to...well not _look forward to_ but...meh you know what I mean.

* * *

Alice pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, as she watched the sun rise above Forks. The orange light played across her face, throwing glints of light into the dawn sky, and she revelled in the warming caress. Not wishing to be outdone by the waking sun, a light breeze embraced her. It seemed to Alice that the world was kissing her goodbye. It was a good day to die, she decided from the roof of her home.

It was truly the only place she would not be disturbed by her family. She had taken Jacob and Bella to the mountains; they had spent the day enjoying each other's company, and forging memories for the other two. Alice knew that it was a day well spent.

But now her days were over, and she was alone. Alone she allowed herself to let the bravado fall from her face, and let the terror claim her heart. Just beyond her home's reach, she could see three dark figures, standing in their silent vigil. The sun would not touch them, and the wind did not pull at their cloaks. Her executioners stood, waiting for her.  
Sighing softly she got to her feet, and wandered down, into the house with an unerring grace. Carlisle was waiting for her beneath the hatch. "Alice. I'm sorry." She didn't have to force a smile for him. Her father would see straight through her, and he wouldn't appreciate the attempt.

"For what?" Carlisle's golden eyes searched her own, for forgiveness, she thought. He needn't search; her forgiveness was always readily given.

"For following Edward's wishes all this time. I never questioned him, not once. I should have. It should never have come to this." There was sadness in his eyes, and the smile she gave him was real.

"I forgive you, Dad." It was the title more than the forgiveness that brought the faint smile to the doctor's face. "Now come on. I don't think I've been late in my life. Today would be a terrible time to start." She let her father lead her to the rest of the family, who were stood by the door wearing identical expressions of grief, pretending she wasn't terrified. Pretending she was brave. Four more sets of golden eyes fell onto her body, but she couldn't face them. Her eyes sought the brown pair, and the girl stood beside her husband.  
Bella's eyes were drowning in tears. Alice stepped forwards and carefully brushed them away. "Don't cry." She whispered, taking the warm hand. She placed a gentle kiss on the back of the palm. "Please, don't cry." Each tear that fell drove another splinter into her already dead heart.

"I don't want you to die." Alice smiled, and, rolling onto her tiptoes, placed a kiss onto the human's forehead.

"Sweetheart, I've been dead almost my whole life." Bella forced a watery smile, but it seemed painful to the vampire.

"I love you." Her voice was soft and unsteady, but the three words buoyed her up as nothing else could. The sparkle in her golden eyes became a little more real. The next kiss was placed onto Bella's lips, soft as the still rising sun had kissed Alice.

"I know." The vampire murmured against warm lips. "I love you too. I always will." She pulled away finally, and raised her voice. "The same goes for all of you."

Her eyes fell on Jasper, and unconsciously her hand rose to his wedding ring. It was now hanging from a delicate gold chain around her neck, close to her heart. He looked as if his whole world had shattered before his very eyes, and there was nothing he could to fix it.

She cast a glance to the rest of her family. Esme looked distraught, Alice felt a pang of guilt: she had taken two of her children from the kindly woman. Fate had a twisted sense of humour when she decided Esme should outlive three children.

Emmett was subdued, his eyes were sparkling, as if with unshed tears, but he couldn't cry any more than Alice herself could. Rosalie stood by him, holding his hand, her marble face creased with sadness. But there was pride in her eyes.

"We're proud of you Alice. You know that, right?" The blonde's voice was unusually kind, Alice's throat constricted and she could say the words, she nodded. "Good." Alice turned on her heel, towards the door. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You guys should stay here." She knew they wouldn't. Knew that as soon as she was out of sight they would follow her. But she had to try and protect them.  
She ran as fast as she could through the trees, to the clearing just beyond the Cullen's land. To where her executioners were already waiting. She had barely breached the clearing when Emmett's voice reached her keen ears.

"You're not doing this alone, Ali-cat." He murmured, pulling her into a hug, his huge frame seeming to shield her from the Volturi. "You don't deserve to die alone." Alice smiled softly as the others made themselves visible to her once she was released; Bella was cradled in Jasper's arms. "Don't worry, Ali. We'll look after your girl." Emmett winked down at her, and she smiled. "Who knows what she'll find next? Zombies, maybe?" She laughed. A real tinkling laugh.

"Alice Cullen." Aro's voice broke the moment, just as she knew it would. Caius stood beside him, his long dark hair just as still, even though there was a light breeze. Jane stood at Aro's right hand, a twisted smile on her angelic face, lank brown hair pinned behind her.  
Alice looked into the eyes of her family one more time, before turning her back on them, wandering into the sun. She let her pale skin throw shards of light, knowing that it was an action her executioners would hate. The tiny rebellion brought a tiny smirk to her lips. Aro smiled too, but his smile was cold, and just a little confused. "I should have known you were too noble to take the head-start I allowed you." His reedy voice seemed to swell in the small clearing. "Didn't I tell you she was noble?" Caius' ruby eyes flickered to his comrade.

"Repeatedly." He muttered, already sounding bored.  
An itching sensation prickled at Alice's fingertips, and she turned her golden eyes onto Jane. The twin crimson orbs were fixed directly onto Alice. The itching developed to a vague pain and began to spread up her arm until it encompassed her entire body.

"You'll have to excuse Jane's… eagerness. She likes to play." Alice gave Aro a jerky nod but didn't move her gaze from the child beside him. "You have been sentenced to death, for the murder of one Edward Cullen. Your brother." Aro sounded tired, pleading even. "You could still-"  
"No." Her curt reply snapped around the clearing, and the trees seemed to rustle in agreement.

Aro nodded towards Jane.

Unbearable pain exploded all across her body, but she didn't scream. The pain blinded her, and forced her to her knees, but she would not scream. Alice didn't think that the body was capable of feeling pain so concentrated, but somehow, it got worse. A muted yell pushed itself through her lips, and her consciousness began to waver. At least she would not be aware when she was torn apart. It was merciful in a way.

Animalistic roars rumbled through the trees that surrounded them.

The pain stopped, and Alice forced her eyes open.

Four wolves the sizes of small cars were stood before her. Between Alice and the Volturi, growls echoed inside their chests. A familiar blackfur, two greyfurs, and a very familiar brownfur. Jacob.

"What is this treachery?" Caius yelled, stumbling backwards in an attempt to get away from the greyfur that was bearing down on him.

"It appears that we have stumbled upon werewolf territory." Aro sounded amused. "Curious. I thought you had hunted them to extinction Caius." The greyfur snapped playfully at Caius, and Alice finally saw that it was Seth.

"So did I." The other man spat, eyeing the wolves with a mix of terror and disgust.

Blackfur receded and left Sam standing before the Volturi, seemingly perfectly comfortable, even though he was completely naked. Jane narrowed her eyes before averting them, Caius snarled, and Aro merely lifted an amused eyebrow.

"This is an unlawful execution." He stated in his deep, comforting voice. Alice wished she could stand, so she at least didn't look as weak as she felt. But the best she could manage was lifting her head.

"Oh?" Aro's eyes twinkled.

"Edward was killed on our territory. Your laws are not in effect there. Ours are." Sam waved a hand towards Seth and Jacob. "She saved two of my pack, and a human. Our law states that she is hero."  
"And ours that she is a criminal. A criminal with no sense of loyalty." Caius spat towards the alpha, albeit from a safe distance.

"She was indeed noble." Aro murmured. The slight pain began again in Alice's limbs, but she daren't speak, wasn't even sure that she could. Aro appeared to smile at Sam. "We shall leave her to you, sir." He added, and to everyone's astonishment, turned his back on the wolves, and began to walk away. "Come. We're leaving." Excruciating pain flared directly in the centre of Alice's chest, at the same time a vision exploded in a flash of colour behind her eyelids.

_Jane watched the Cullen girl slump to the floor, and gave a yell of victory. A brown furred wolf lunged towards her with a roar of anguish, knocking her to the ground easily._

_Caius flew towards the nearest greyfur, only to be intercepted by the second. Together the greyfurs kept him pinned to the floor. He was unable to move.  
__  
Aro yelled for his comrades to yield as the man before him changed fluidly back into the black furred wolf. The blackfur snarled. Aro's eyes widened for a split second, then he dropped to one knee in a gesture of surrender. _

_The Cullen's raced to their daughter's unmoving form, each trying to rouse her, until, finally, Emmett collected her into his arms and walked away. The others followed.  
_  
_Behind them the wolves continued their bloody task, unhindered by vampire law._

The colour faded, and all Alice could feel outside of that terrible pain, was the leafy ground beneath her. And then she felt, saw, smelt, and heard, nothing.

* * *

...I cannot, absolutely _cannot _believe I just killed Aro.


	13. XIII: A Slice of Fairytale

Ok, a final chapter for you, my friends. Just a little heads up for Leah's, however apt, swearing. Thank you :)

* * *

"She'll be ok, you know." Jacob's voice reached Bella's ears as if from afar. Alice hadn't moved an inch since the clearing, and that had been nigh on six hours ago. Bella held her cool hand in both of hers; she hadn't left her side since.

The wolf pack had based themselves in the Cullen's garden in a beastly vigil until Alice awoke. Bella was still amazed that the wolves had saved the vampire girl. That they had killed three of the most powerful vampires in existence to save someone they swore they hated. Although Jacob seemed to be friends with her, at least.

"How can you know that?" Bella desperately wanted to believe that everything would turn out all right, but after Edward; she knew that things didn't always turn out the way you wanted. That only happened in fairytales. Jacob moved into the room, taking a seat on the edge of Alice's bed.  
"Has she ever let you down before?" He smiled when Bella finally raised her head to look at him. She shook her head, and he tapped her nose gently. "Well then. She'll be fine." The human couldn't find a fault in his logic but that didn't mean one wasn't there. Alice had no heartbeat, no pulse, and no moving blood. There was absolutely no way to know if Alice was even still there, or if it was just her corpse lying still on her bed.

"She looks so…dead." She remembered what Alice had told her only that morning, although it felt like weeks ago. _'Sweetheart, I've been dead almost my whole life.'_ At the time it had relieved a little tension. Now though, it was worrying.

"Smells it too." Jacob commented, wrinkling his nose with a grin. Bella shot him a glare. His smile fell, and he brushed some hair from Alice's deathly pale face. "Not funny, ok." He sighed wistfully. "She'd have laughed."

"Yeah." Bella bit back the bitter sentence that wanted to spill from her lips. A door slammed two floors below.  
"Emmett's home." Jacob chuckled, as the boy's heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. Within a few seconds the bear-like vampire was leaning in the doorway to Alice's room. His eyes were dark, and his mouth set.

"They want to bury _him_ in the garden." Everyone knew that _'him'_ was Edward. "After what he did to Alice. To you. They want to give him a 'nice burial'." Bella's grip on Alice's hand tightened just a little. But Jacob, no matter how much he'd hated Edward, couldn't begrudge the Cullen's the burial of their son. After all, he was still their son, no matter what he'd done.

Alice's eyelids flickered, cutting off any further conversation. Emmett flitted closer to the bed where his sister lay. "Alice?" This time her eyes opened to reveal honey coloured irises. "How d'you feel, Ali-cat?" A smile threatened to tear Emmett's face in two as the pixie-like vampire forced herself to sit up.

"Like I've been hit by a truck." She muttered rubbing her eyes with tiny fists. "A Rosalie driven _fire_truck." Bella lips twitched into a wide grin.

"Rose isn't that bad a driver." The human, ran a thumb across the back of the vampire's hand, as soon as it was returned to her grip.

"I still say you have a thing for my sister." Alice smirked, and Bella blushed slightly.

"Not for your sister." She mumbled, knowing full well that everyone in the room could hear anyway. Alice's smirk twisted into a real smile, and at lightening fast speeds she pulled Bella into a light kiss. Jacob wolf whistled as they parted, dark eyes gleaming. "Shut it Jake." Bella's face was tomato red, but she was still smiling.

"Yeah, shut it Jake. Stop interrupting them." Emmett grinned, looking down on the girls. "As you were." Jacob looked at him.

"Dude, that's your sister." Emmett shrugged.

"We're not related." Bella, now redder than ever, backhanded the vampire boy in the stomach. He laughed, and she yelped in pain, as her knuckle cracked. Alice swung her legs over the side of the bed, passing a feather light kiss across Bella's rapidly bruising knuckles, and got, shakily, to her feet.

"Allow me, Sweetheart." She smiled; slinking forwards, some of her grace returning, and punched Emmett in the shoulder. Her eyes glazed over a split second. "Oh…Rose is going to relegate you to the sofa for a month." Jacob mouthed an 'ouch' as Emmett's grin crumpled.  
"Damn right I am!" Rosalie's voice echoed up the stairwell reducing all but Emmett to laughter.  
"But honey…" He yelled back, wandering out of the room and down the stairs. Alice sat beside Jacob.

"Thank you for saving my life." She smiled up at him. He pulled her into a hug.

"You're welcome, Shorts. We're even now." Bella smiled at her two closest friends. "I'll go tell the pack you're ok." Alice nodded, slipping out of Jacob's embrace.

"We should head down to the garden." Bella cast her a confused look as she held out a hand to her, but took it anyway. "They've just finished burying Edward. I should go say goodbye. You can stay here if you want." Alice wanted to go to her brother's grave, for no other reason than the fact that he was her brother.

"No. I'll come too." Bella decided, holding Alice's hand. "I think I'd rather stay with you." Alice smiled to herself.

"For how long?" She didn't know what made her ask the question as they meandered towards the stairs.  
"Forever." The vampire nodded, and led her human to the newly dug earth.

/

"Love's a bitch isn't it?" Alice turned quickly, nearly slipping on the wet grass, to see Leah Clearwater wandering across the garden towards her. Suddenly she knew who the other greyfur who'd saved her was. She'd been at Edward's graveside for hours since Bella had gone home, at Esme's insistence that she get some sleep. It was dark now, and rain was falling lightly all around them. She returned her gaze to the grey stone in front of her as the werewolf stood beside her.

"Technically so are you." She smiled up at the other girl, and received a tiny grin in response.

"Funny, leech." Alice brushed the derogatory term off easily; it was just Leah's way. "You saved my brother's life." The vampire shrugged; it had just been instinct, nothing more and nothing less.

"You both saved mine." Leah's lips twitched into a half smile.

"Technically you were already dead." Alice gave a tinkling laugh, rain dripping from the spikes in her hair. She was beginning to like this wolf.

"Touché, Leah. Touché." Leah shifted her feet, sending ripples through the muddy puddle she was stood in.

"I meant how you can never stop loving someone. No matter what they do." Alice nodded; she knew that she had lost her fiancé, Sam, to another. She knew that Sam couldn't help it; imprinted was uncontrollable. And she knew that Leah couldn't blame him for it, or the alpha's imprint, no matter how hard she tried. Alice, herself, couldn't force herself to stop loving her brother, even after all he'd done. Even after killing him.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." The rain was cold, Alice couldn't feel it, she only knew because Leah suddenly shivered. "You should go inside, it's cold." The wolf gave her a smile, a real one this time.

"I can't feel it. I'm too warm." She placed a hand near Alice's arm; not touching, never touching, and the vampire could feel the waves of heat coming from her. "And you're too cold. But we should still go inside." Alice shook her head.

"Not yet." Her golden eyes traced her brother's name.  
"Another thing about love is, you can't control it. You can't get rid of it, and you can't make it happen." Puzzle pieces suddenly slipped into place.

"You imprinted." She whispered. Leah's silence was all the answer she needed. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Did you know imprinting doesn't affect vampires? It works with humans because all werewolves were human once, but not vampires, because we were vampires. Besides we're supposed to be mortal enemies, not lovers." Alice felt pity build in her heart for the werewolf girl beside her. She was already an outcast among her kind, being the only girl in her pack, and now she'd imprinted on a vampire. She turned to her.

"Who is it?" Brown eyes flickered with dull fire as Leah stared back.

"The blonde. You know, I don't even know his name?" Alice's dead heart leapt. Leah had imprinted on her husband.

"Jasper. His name's Jasper Hale. He's a good man. The best." Leah scoffed.

"You talk as if you love him." Alice allowed herself a smile.

"I do. We were married." Leah stepped away, her dark eyes darting to the ring that rested in the hollow of Alice's throat. "But not anymore."

"You can't tell him." Panic mixed with the authoritative tone to her voice, bringing a commiserating smile to Alice's lips.

"He's an empath, Leah. Chances are, he already knows." The panic spread into Leah's eyes. Alice turned back to the grave in an attempt to give the wolf to pull herself together. Slowly, carefully, she knelt beside the grave, and placed the snow white rose she'd been holding for hours, onto the dirt. Gracefully she stood again, and looped her arm with a blank faced Leah. "Come on. Let's get inside, it's late."  
"Funny. That's what I came to tell you."

* * *

Well...I know Edward deserved what he got, but hey it's Alice, and she's way too sweet to hate him when he's dead :) yay Alice sweetness :)

Thank you for reading :)

Also for those of you who read Yellow Tulips, I've been asked to write a prequel for Lucy, Leon and the others...that should be up in a few days or so if you're interested. Ok advertising over :)


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